Is Theatre Really Queer? Separating Fact From Fiction.

Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer in ‘The Boys in the Band’ .(Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who works in theatre who hasn’t heard the words ‘theatre is gay’ at some point during their career.

Certainly, as a young man treading the boards, such reactions to my artistic pursuits were fairly common. Some guys would make comments purely for the amusement of their friends, but others would use them almost as an excuse. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had where young men interested in the arts have stopped themselves from getting involved for fear of appearing feminine or queer.

Despite the fact that there are, as we all know, plenty of straight actors involved in theatre and the arts, this stereotype seems to persist relentlessly. Particularly for young people, the image of theatre and performance is often one of campiness and lacking masculinity. But why? Where does this come from? Why is theatre seen to be so queer?

Well, there are a couple of possible answers.

The Grain of Truth

The truth is that you are more likely to find a high concentration of queer people in theatre than in some other professions. Though straight people are more than welcome to tread the boards with the best of them, there is some truth in the stereotype of the arts being a little queerer than the outside world, at least in my experience.

The practice of performance itself is not in the least queer, given that it has absolutely nothing to do with sexuality or gender. Theatre and the arts are neither masculine nor feminine. They just… are. They form an important part of our overarching culture and are therefore open to all. And it is precisely that openness, in my opinion, that attracts the queer community.

Theatre provided me and countless of my peers with a safe space to be ourselves and discover new things about our characters. For many people, it was the first environment where their sexuality or gender identity was not the focus of attention.

Discussing this topic with fellow thespians, I find that, more often than not, everyone seems to be in agreement. Theatre is not in and of itself queer in any way, shape, or form. The communities that spring up around the art form, however, are.

Artistic expression and creation demand, at least to some extent, open-mindedness and emotional intelligence. In theatre and film, it is difficult to imagine how one could possibly play a character without some kind of emotional investigation and investment. As actors, it is our job to become something other than ourselves, and in doing so I think we also learn how to be compassionate to those around us, which in turn creates an environment in which minorities like the queer community can flourish.

I suppose the theatrical arts are somewhat unique in that regard. Acceptance and understanding are not just naturally occurring elements of the industry due to the kind of people who work in it, but rather it is an extension of qualities that are professionally required of actors and performers. Theatre has a kind of social tolerance built into the very fabric of the industry.

However, no profession is without its flaws. Though theatre is generally accepting of queer people, it still has its issues in other areas, such as race. Gay people may find solace and comfort in theatre, but there are other groups who do not, and we should make every effort to change that.

Toxic Masculinity

The other reason why theatre is sometimes labeled as queer, most often by men, is that there are aspects of stagecraft that run contrary to entrenched ideas of masculinity.

The problem of toxic masculinity is one that most people will be at least somewhat familiar with by now, as it has been a regular topic in the columns of newspapers and magazines for a number of years now. Thankfully, the rise in awareness of this issue has served to decrease its potency somewhat, with many high-profile individuals, most recently Harry Styles, gaining significant attention for their gender-bending behavior.

However, I would argue that there are a number of things which we men do in theatre which some still find difficult to stomach due to long-held prejudices. The extensive use of make-up, for example, or the tendency for artistic men to be more emotional and compassionate (due to the reasons outlined above). While these things are arguably either irrelevant or net positives, they do fly in the face of the emotionless, hard-as-nails, man’s man persona that has so long plagued our popular culture and twisted our perceptions of what masculinity should be.

To be clear, such expressions of masculinity are generally perfectly acceptable (though emotionlessness is fundamentally unhealthy) provide it is not expected that all men conform to the same standards. The reason why universal standards of toxic masculinity have arguably contributed to the ‘queer’ reputation of theatre is because much of what is undertaken in the day-to-day course of acting does not fit with that predetermined model of a ‘man’.

Obviously, to label perceived non-masculine traits as ‘gay’ or ‘queer’ is in and of itself a misnomer. Non-masculine does not equal queer. The two are not connected. The misconception that they are, however, appears to persist.

Queer theatre: Half true

So yes, theatre is probably queerer than many other professions by virtue of the fact that, for many of us at least, it provides a safe space free from judgment and danger. The openness with which most theatre industries operate is a credit to both the art form and the people who work with it. Of course, that does beg the question ‘if more industries were so open, would theatre still be as queer?’.

Who knows? With any luck, our society will continue to become more open and tolerant and we will eventually find out the answer to that question. In the meantime, however, theatre, both professional and amateur, provides a vital service to many in the queer community.

As for the toxic masculinity issue, that is a problem that goes far beyond the confines of theatre and the arts. Until we see a systematic societal change in the presentation of gender norms, it is unlikely that the stereotypes around theatre will ever go away.

We in the arts can help to hasten the achievement of that goal though, by doing our best to encourage those who misunderstand our art to educate themselves and maybe even give it a try. Plays, films and other performances that challenge gender stereotypes are also a core part of the road to progress on this issue. The more mainstream breaking gender norms becomes, the less hold they will have on our society, and therefore our industry.

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Sean Bennett is a writer, editor, actor, and producer based in the UK. After years of acting in community theatre, he founded his first theatre company in 2016 at the age of 18 and now writes about theatre and the arts, drawing on his experiences over the last decade in the industry.